scholarly journals Tania Wallis, Chris Johnson, and Mohamed Khamis, Interorganizational Cooperation in Supply Chain Cybersecurity: A Cross-Industry Study of the Effectiveness of the UK Implementation of the NIS Directive

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tania Wallis ◽  
Chris Johnson ◽  
Mohamed Khamis
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Interorganizational Cooperation ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
Eu Directive ◽  
Industry Study ◽  
Working Groups ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Industry Sectors

The transposition of the EU Directive on Network and Information Security (NIS) by EU Member States involved assigning a set of responsibilities to operators, regulators and policy makers within a national cybersecurity strategy, in order to improve cybersecurity levels across critical infrastructures. This research investigates the perspectives and experiences of organisations affected by the NIS Directive focussing on three different sectors (Energy, Water & Aviation). The authors evaluate the response of different actors to NIS interventions and their challenges in meeting their assigned responsibilities, in particular their ability to oversee supply chain cybersecurity. It proposes further support for partnerships and cooperation across organisations to increase the effectiveness of NIS implementation. Based on results from semi-structured interviews and observations of industry working groups, an approach to supply chain oversight to achieve a balance between control and cooperation is recommended, to improve cybersecurity within industry sectors and across critical national infrastructures. Although our initial focus has been on working mainly with UK stakeholders, we argue that our recommendations have a more general application beyond those countries directly affected by the Directive.

scholarly journals Fraud in overseas aid and the challenge of measurement

2015 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 184-198 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Button ◽  
Chris Lewis ◽  
David Shepherd ◽  
Graham Brooks
Keyword(s):  
High Risk ◽  
International Development ◽  
Local Context ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the challenges of measuring fraud in overseas aid. Design/methodology/approach – The research is based on 21 semi-structured interviews with key persons working in the delivery of aid in both the public and voluntary sectors. It uses the UK Department for International Development as a case study to applying more accurate measures of fraud. Findings – This paper shows there are significant challenges to using fraud loss measurement to gauge fraud in overseas aid. However, it argues that, along with other types of measures, it could be used in areas of expenditure in overseas governments and charities to measure aid. Given the high risk of such aid to fraud, it argues helping to develop capacity to reduce aid, of which measuring the size of the problem is an important part; this could be considered as aid in its own right. Research limitations/implications – The researchers were not able to visit high-risk countries for fraud to examine in the local context views on the challenges of measuring fraud. Practical implications – The paper offers insights on the challenges to accurately measuring fraud in an overseas context, which will be useful to policy-makers in this context. Social implications – Given the importance of as much aid as possible reaching recipients, it offers an important contribution to helping to reduce losses in this important area. Originality/value – There has been very little consideration of how to measure fraud in the overseas aid context, with most effort aimed at corruption, which poses some of the same challenges, as well as some very different challenges.

scholarly journals Forgetting social value and other good practices in construction supply chains: Procurement in pandemics

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 221-233
Author(s):  
Greg Watt ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Construction Industry ◽  
Narrative Analysis ◽  
Value Creation ◽  
Social Value ◽  
Supply Chain Collaboration ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Social Value Creation ◽  
The Creation ◽  
The Uk

The construction industry is a major contributor to the UK economy and provides additional benefits for wider society including the creation of social value. The creation of social value is highly dependent upon the construction industry supply chain which can been described as fragmented, adversarial and wasteful. Supply chain collaboration has been improving in recent times with increased trust and communication helping to successfully deliver project requirements, including the creation of social value. However, progression in construction supply chain collaboration was made pre Covid-19, the consequential UK Government enforced lockdown, and resulting recession. As we are now in the immediate aftermath of the initial impacts of the pandemic, this paper aims to understand if the lockdown and proceeding recession has resulted in any supply chain procurement behaviour changes of Quantity Surveying professionals, and how such changes may impact upon social value creation. Semi structured interviews were conducted with seventeen main contractor Quantity Surveyors and the results analysed using narrative analysis. The results revealed that whilst there is a lack of supply chain collaboration generally, progress has been made in building trust and communication amongst the supply chain to help create social value. However, changes in supply chain management behaviours post pandemic now risk undermining social value creation in the construction industry.

A critical reflection on sustainability within the UK industrial sectors

2012 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 317-334 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suresh Renukappa ◽  
Charles Egbu ◽  
Akintola Akintoye ◽  
Jack Goulding
Keyword(s):  
First Century ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Bottom Line ◽  
Content Type ◽  
For Profit ◽  
Industrial Sectors ◽  
Not For Profit ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Corporate Social ◽  
Industry Sectors

PurposeIn the early part of the twenty‐first century, the term sustainability has become a buzzword. Although featuring strongly in the popular media, trade, professional and academic journals, the very concept of sustainability is elusive for businesses. There is, however, a little empirical research on the perceptions of the UK industrial sectors on the concept of sustainability – which is the core raison d'être of this paper. The purpose of this paper is to capture the general perceptions of the UK industrial sectors on the concept of sustainability.Design/methodology/approachThe aim of this paper is to capture the general perceptions of the UK industrial sectors on the concept of sustainability using a qualitative approach. Four industry sectors: energy and utility, transportation, construction and not‐for‐profit organisations (NPOs) were considered based on the environmental, social and economic impact on the UK society. Semi‐structured interviews were used to collect industry perception which was then analysed using content analysis for inference and conclusion.FindingsThe data analysis revealed that the perceptions of the UK industrial sectors on the concept of sustainability vary significantly across the four industry sectors. Four core categories were identified: environmental, economic, corporate social responsibility and triple bottom line dimension.Practical implicationsThe paper concludes that the concept of sustainability is multifaceted and diverse. Although the importance of sustainability is broadly acknowledged across the four industry sectors, there is a significant lack of a common and operationalised understanding on the concept of sustainability. Therefore, it is recommended that there is an urgent need to develop and deploy an industry‐wide awareness‐raising programme on the concept of sustainability.Originality/valueThe paper provides a richer insight into the understanding and awareness of the meaning of sustainability at a conceptual level.

Effects of Supply Chain Characteristics on E-Procurement Institutionalization in the Construction Sector

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 85-96
Author(s):  
Quangdung Tran ◽  
Drew Steve ◽  
Rodney Anthony Stewart
Keyword(s):  
Cluster Analysis ◽  
Supply Chain ◽  
T Test ◽  
Construction Sector ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Ownership Type ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Construction Firms ◽  
Construction Companies ◽  
Silhouette Coefficient

This study seeks to investigate the effects of supply chain characteristics on e-procurement institutionalization in construction companies. Data was collected through the in-depth structured interviews with 47 managers from a sample of 31 construction firms in Vietnam. The technique of cluster analysis with the Ward algorithm, the silhouette coefficient, and the t-test were used to analyze the data. The findings showed that the supply chain characteristics in terms of the size, ownership type, and operating market of strategic partners were significantly associated with the level of e-procurement institutionalization in construction companies. Along with the findings, this study's results will be helpful to policy-makers in formulating supportive policies and actions to effectively improve the low status of e-procurement adoption as well as accelerate the diffusion of the technology in the industry.

Exploring the barriers that influence intention to donate and role of the charity shop within the multi-tier supply chain

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hailan Guo ◽  
Xiaoling Xu
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Mixed Methods ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Mixed Methods Approach ◽  
Lack Of Information ◽  
Donation Process ◽  
Quality Stock ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact

PurposeHumanitarian relief organisations such as charities count on donations to provide assistance to people in need when disasters occur. In the UK, about 11,200 charity shops collect second-hand goods from donors to raise funds for their parent charity to support target beneficiaries. As their numbers increase, charity shops are finding it difficult to secure good quality stock. Furthermore, they may need to plan ahead to secure sufficient stock when the economy experiences a downturn. This paper identifies the charity shop's role and its donation flow in the multi-tier supply chain and empirically assesses the barriers that influence intention to donate with a mixed-methods approach.Design/methodology/approachIn order to explore the charity shop's role within the multi-tier supply chain, this study begins with a literature review and then develops a conceptual model. In order to empirically evaluate the barriers that influence intention to donate, the authors conducted semi-structured interviews with 14 charity shop managers and collected 222 usable questionnaires from donors. The interpretive structural modelling (ISM) approach was applied to examine the interrelationship among barriers and rank their priority.FindingsThis paper identifies ten significant barriers that influence intention to donate: lack of good quality items for donation; lack of information on how charity shops make use of donations; lack of familiarity with the donation process; lack of information of what items can be accepted by charity shops; lack of awareness of the impact that donations make; the difficulty of being available at the scheduled times for charity shops' free pick-up services; the difficulty of donating during shops' opening hours; the difficulty of finding parking to access charity shops; and living too far away from charity shops. In particular, the questionnaires' results indicate that lack of good quality items is the most significant barrier. This is also reflected in the ISM model, and thus needs more attention.Practical implicationsThe results are very useful for charity shops themselves to understand current barriers to securing good quality stock and to develop potential stock-securing interventions based on these barriers' priority.Originality/valueAlthough charity shops have been investigated by several researchers, their supply chain remains insufficiently explored. This paper fills this gap by identifying the charity shop's role and its donation flow in the supply chain and by empirically assessing the supply-side barriers with a mixed-methods approach.

The UNGPs — Five Years on

2016 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 289-317 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maddalena Neglia
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Policy Instruments ◽  
Public Regulation ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
Business And Human Rights ◽  
Eu Directive ◽  
Modern Slavery ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
The Uk

The United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights were endorsed in 2011 by the UN Human Rights Council. Since then they have become a normative platform and have led to widespread convergence of national and international regulatory initiatives. Focusing on Europe, this articles shows that the consensus reached, in particular on human rights due diligence, has been a driving force behind the influence the Principles have had on public regulation of business and human rights. One example is offered by the EU's approach to integrating UNGPs into legal and policy instruments, including the 2011 Communication on CSR and the EU Directive no. 2014/95 on non-financial reporting. But this has been accompanied by recent developments in EU Member States' public regulation of business and human rights, including the UK Modern Slavery Act and the French bill on ‘devoir de vigilance’. The article concludes that, despite the emergence of a piecemeal regulatory approach, coherence in the public regulation of business violations of human rights is urgently needed in Europe. It further shows that, if properly led, this process could entail reinforcement of the EU's commitment to the UNGPs' implementation.

scholarly journals A SWOT Analysis of the UK EV Battery Supply Chain

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (23) ◽  
pp. 9807
Author(s):  
Yun Zhang ◽  
Louise Rysiecki ◽  
Yu Gong ◽  
Qi Shi
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Swot Analysis ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Supplier Relationships ◽  
Continuous Innovation ◽  
Qualitative Research Design ◽  
The Us ◽  
Multiple Regions ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Battery Industry

The aim of this research is to identify and explore the UK electric vehicle (EV) battery industry’s supply chain strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) by taking a leading UK EV battery company as an exploratory case study. Our research addresses the gap in knowledge surrounding the UK EV battery supply chain, as the current literature is limited whilst demands for EVs are surging. There are significant opportunities awaiting the EV battery industry, though it is crucial that companies are aware of the threats facing them. To address the gap, this research followed an exploratory qualitative research design using semi-structured interviews with experienced interviewees in the industry. By applying the SWOT analysis framework and the theory lens of Resource Based View (RBV), we suggest that the UK EV battery industry should diversify its supply base into multiple regions such as India, Africa, and the US, which would reduce the reliance on sourcing from China whilst maintaining good supplier relationships and continuous innovation.

scholarly journals BIM in the water industry: addressing challenges to improve the project delivery process

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Kamunda ◽  
Suresh Renukappa ◽  
Subashini Suresh ◽  
Haddy Jallow
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Research Problem ◽  
Project Delivery ◽  
Study Cohort ◽  
Water Industry ◽  
Water Sector ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Water Companies ◽  
The Uk

PurposeThe UK water industry is a private sector that has no government mandate to implement building information modelling (BIM) but would benefit from its use. Research has identified that fragmentation and inefficiency still existed in the water industry project delivery processes. These issues can be addressed by harnessing the collaboration that BIM brings by using emerging information technology. The UK water industry has had little research in the use of BIM in the project delivery processes over the years.Design/methodology/approachThe aim of the research is to explore and examine BIM elements currently used in the water industry, as well as understand the organisational cultural support for BIM. It also investigated the adoption of BIM which will enable to improve water industry project delivery processes. An empirical study was performed in the UK given the relatively new and unexplored nature of the research problem, a qualitative research methodology was adopted. In total, 14 semi-structured interviews from six water sector organisations were conducted to collect data, which was then analysed using thematic analysis for inference and conclusion.FindingsThe study identified that BIM has already changed how projects are delivered by the water companies and their supply chain. Use of emerging technology such as Autodesk Revit, Civil 3D and virtual reality has gained traction and is leading organisations to continue investing in these areas to remain relevant. Although staff training was offered by all organisations within the study cohort, some interviews still thought that more can be done by their organisations as BIM is still maturing. Those interviewed regarded BIM models as data and information rich with the ability to enable the supply chain to obtain quicker approvals.Originality/valueThe paper provides a richer insight into the understanding and awareness of BIM elements used in the water industry to improve project delivery processes. This study suggests that the water industry supply chain has taken positive steps and started to benefit from BIM use. It also recommends that there is a need for cross-sector collaboration to capture and share best and worst practices relating to BIM adoption in the water sector.

scholarly journals Fashion “see-now-buy-now”: implications and process adaptations

2020 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 495-515
Author(s):  
Rosy Boardman ◽  
Yvonne Haschka ◽  
Courtney Chrimes ◽  
Bethan Alexander
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Vertical Integration ◽  
Exploratory Study ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Relationship Management ◽  
Supplier Relationship Management ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Uk

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to identify if and how the see-now-buy-now model impacts the traditional buying, merchandising and supply chain processes (BMSCP) of multi-brand fashion retailers (MBFR) and whether they need to be adapted in order to facilitate this development.Design/methodology/approachThis exploratory study includes three industry case studies, triangulated with external observers. A total of 11 semi-structured interviews were conducted within Germany and the UK.FindingsFindings demonstrate that in order to adopt the see-now-buy-now model there is a need for process-shortening, as well as better process and network alignment between MBFR and brands through agility, supplier–relationship management and vertical integration in order to stay competitive against time-based competition. Whilst most steps of the traditional BMSCP are still applicable under the see-now-buy-now model, they must be re-engineered and shortened, with the steps being rolling rather than linear, with buyers and merchandisers operating in a more hybrid role.Originality/valueThis paper addresses the lack of research on the see-now-buy-now model as well as on the BMSCP of MBFR and the implications that see-now-buy-now could have on those processes. A modified buying, merchandising and supply chain framework adapted to incorporate see-now-buy-now is created which will be useful for academics and practitioners.

scholarly journals Achieving Supply Chain Integration within Construction Industry

2012 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 44-54 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter McDermotti ◽  
Malik Khalfan
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Construction Industry ◽  
Supply And Demand ◽  
Optimal Level ◽  
Supply Chain Integration ◽  
Main Driver ◽  
A Chain ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Industry Sectors ◽  
Integrated Processes

The main driver behind the adoption of supply chain management (SCM) philosophy into the construction industry was the successes within other industry sectors. SCM can be defined as network of different organisations, linked upstream and downstream in a chain, aiming to produce quality and value in the services and products for the end consumers through integrated processes and activities. In order to achieve the optimised level of integration of the whole supply chain, the industry has responded in various forms. This paper will discuss different initiatives by the researchers,construction industry,and the UK government in order to achieve optimal level of supply chain integration. This paper will discuss the concept of aggregation,and also look at other supply chain integration related concepts including client-led supply chain, knowledge about the whole supply chain, effects of procurement on integration of supply chain, etc. The paper will give a brief overview and initial findings of a project undertaken by the authors, and also include examples from the UK construction industry on bundling of the supply and demand.

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